Sorted by date Results 1 - 18 of 18
Just before 7 A.M. last Friday, the United States Coast Guard was notified of a wooden, seine fishing vessel that had run aground in the Wrangell Narrows and was sinking with four individuals on board, according to a prepared statement by the USCG. By 9 A.M. the Coast Guard Cutter Bailey Barco and its crew had arrived on scene to begin pumping water out of the boat; however, due to the current and the fact that the vessel was already completely flooded, the USCG's dewatering efforts failed. All...
The borough assembly and borough department heads conducted an annual performance evaluation of Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht that found that the manager generally exceeds or meets expectations. The performance evaluation is a way to increase communication between the borough assembly and borough manager regarding Giesbrecht's goals and accomplishments. During the performance evaluation, assembly members and department heads are presented with different columns within categories that relate...
June 20, 1919 The town of Petersburg will celebrate on the 4th of July and will extend a general invitation to everyone in this section of Alaska. It is expected that a monster celebration will be staged. Committees as follows have been appointed: Finance, L.C. Berg; Music, K.L. Steberg; Sports, C.E. Swanson; Dance, Lars Stokke; Printing, R. Euge; Speaking, Henery Roden; Decorations, Martin Todal; Treasurer, C. Clausen. June 16, 1944 At the last meeting of the Hospital Guild, Mina Olson, superintendent of the Petersburg Hospital, reported insta...
The Petersburg School Board approved the district's fiscal year 2020 operating budget at their monthly meeting last week. "This is a solid budget," said Finance Director Karen Quitslund. "It's fiscally conservative." The district's budget ignores uncertainties in Gov. Mike Dunleavy's proposed 2020 fiscal year state budget. The district did not believe a state budget was going to be passed before it had to submit the district's budget to the state by July 1. Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter...
A photo on page 15 of last week’s issue of the Petersburg Pilot showed Public Works employees removing a metal grate from around a tree stump near North Boat Harbor after the trees had been cut down. As a point of clarification, it was the borough’s decision to cut the trees down in anticipation of the Petersburg Indian Association’s plans to work on the sidewalk in the future. PIA did not play a part in the decision to cut the trees down.... Full story
Changes to 11 board policies are set to go into effect after the Petersburg School Board approved the alterations in their second and final reading at a board meeting last week. The changes to the policies were minor and were made to be in accordance with new state laws, according to School Board President Mara Lutomski. Some of the policy changes add language related to culturally responsive education and cultural and tribal consulting, which was the case in the changes to board policy...
Borough unfairness To the Editor: I moved here 30 years ago and fell in love with this community. Everyone helped each other and the city government was run quite well and fair. But as time has gone by the government has gotten bigger and created a borough that costs us lots more than it's worth in my opinion. I understand that the people that got swallowed up by the borough needed to pay for some of the benefits like school and such, but in most cases they are paying taxes for little to no...
Some residents have noticed trash scattered around in the muskeg near the baler facility, which has been blown out of a nearby open container, and Public Works Director Chris Cotta has taken action to remove the trash. "We have been trying to keep the trash somewhat contained," said Cotta. "It's pretty hard to keep it all in the container when we're dumping in there. The birds get into it. The wind blows and blows it out of there and blows the bags out." The trash was generally made up of wrappe...
June 12— Authorities responded to a report of an intoxicated individual walking in the middle of Odin St., but the man was gone upon arrival. June 13 — An officer responded to a verbal dispute. A barking dog near the 1100 block of S. Nordic Dr. was reported to authorities. A disturbance was reported at a location on S. 3rd St. June 14 — Eric Luna, 33, was arrested on charges of criminal mischief in the third degree. Jason Erskin, 41, was arrested on charges of criminal mischief in the third degree. James Malone, 44, was arrested on charges of c...
Some veterans have kept their experiences on the battlefield bottled up in their minds where they continually cause suffering, but Steve Henline is getting veterans to open up about what they went through in war while on a fishing boat in Alaska. Through his non-profit organization called Warriors' Tails, Henline has been taking veterans, many of whom have been severely wounded, fishing all over the country where they can feel safe among other veterans to talk about their experiences or just enj...
Salmon dominates the summer fishing headlines but it’s among many other fisheries going on throughout the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea. Alaska’s salmon season has gotten off to a mixed start, with strong catches in some regions over the past month and dismal hauls in others. Good harvests have continued at the Copper River and more recently throughout Prince William Sound. That’s not been the case at Kodiak, Cook Inlet and Chignik where fishing is off to a very slow start. Trollers are targeting Chinook salmon in Southeast, and other salmo...
Sing Lee’s story started in 1892 when Mar Goey emigrated from China to Alaska. By the time he settled in Petersburg in 1909, he’d married and changed his name to Mar Chan Len. The name of the shop he opened in Petersburg was called Sing Lee’s and gradually he acquired Sing Lee as a nickname. The first floor of Sing Lee’s building was mostly store, with a few rental units at the back. Upstairs were more rentals and his apartment. Most of them were bachelor fishermen and miners. Sing Lee sold a...
Judith (Judy) E Erickson, 71, passed away June 1, 2019 in Juneau, Alaska with her children by her side. The first of five children, Judy was born February 29, 1948 to Delbert (Pete) and Irene Erickson in Dallas, Oregon. She grew up in Auburn, Washington. After her parents and younger siblings sailed north to Petersburg aboard the FV Irene E in 1967, Judy followed a year later. She worked for many years at her mother's restaurant, Irene's and she later worked for AMHS prior to her retirement.... Full story
WRANGELL - The carcass of a gray whale was reported floating between Wrangell and Channel Island, in the eastern passage. According to Kate Savage, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, her organization heard about the whale early Saturday morning, June 15. Wrangell resident Sara Gadd shared several photographs of the animal on Facebook. Gadd's husband, Charles, took the photos. He said that he first found the whale floating in the water around 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, and saw...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game have announced sport fishing regulations for king salmon in the areas near Petersburg, Wrangell, and Kake that are opening to the harvest of king salmon after being closed for Southeast Alaska wild king salmon conservation. In the waters adjacent to the Stikine River (District 8 and a portion of Eastern Passage near Wrangell; see attached Map No. 1): July 15 - December 31: Alaska resident: The bag and possession limit is two king salmon, 28 inches or...
QUINHAGAK, Alaska (AP) — Accelerating erosion is forcing villages in western Alaska to begin making plans to move, officials said. Erosion caused by climate change threatens village infrastructure and could force the relocation of communities such as Quinhagak, Alaska’s Energy Desk reported Monday. A 2012 state report listed Quinhagak’s sewer lagoon and multipurpose building as top priorities for replacement or repair because of erosion and thawing permafrost. Erosion now threatens Quinhagak’s airstrip, water treatment plant and water and sew...
